RF Delderfield
Ronald Frederick Delderfield (born February 12, 1912 in the London borough of New Cross, † June 24, 1972 in Sidmouth, Devon ) was an English playwright and novelist.
Life
RF Delderfield was born on February 12, 1912 to William James Delderfield in the London borough of Bermondsey . His father worked as a meat wholesaler in Smithfield Market in Bermondsey and was the first liberal elected to the borough council. As such, he was a promoter of women's suffrage .
From 1918 to 1923 the family lived in Addiscombe near Croydon , London . Delderfield attended a preschool in Bermondsey, then a small private school, before he finally came to West Buckland Public School in Devon via a community and co-educational elementary school.
He contracted scarlet fever while on a family vacation in Swanage , Dorset , and was hospitalized for three months in isolation.
The family moved to Exmouth , East Devon in 1923 , where his father and a neighbor from Bermondsey bought the local paper with the Exmouth Chronicle in 1923. His father was an editor. From 1926 to 1928 Delderfield completed a business course at Fulford's Business College in Exeter , joined the newspaper department in 1929 and followed his father as editor.
His first play, the three-act play "Spark in Judea" was performed in 1936 at the Repertory Theater in Birmingham , received positive feedback in the Birmingham Post and marked the beginning of a successful writing career. The play "Froschperspektiven" ( Worm's eye view ) was performed in London's Whitehall Theater.
In World War II served Delderfield in the Royal Air Force , but his literary career continued. After the war he settled in Devon, ran an antique shop near Budleigh Salteron and decided to write novels. His debut "Seven Men of Gascony" was published in 1949.
On June 24, 1972, Delderfield died of cancer at his Sidmouth home.
Work (selection)
- Seven Men of Gascony , 1949
- The Adventures of Ben Gunn , 1956, German: The Pirates of Treasure Island , 1961
- The Dreaming Suburb , 1958 - (Avenue series)
- The Avenue Goes to War , 1958 - (Avenue Series)
- Mr. Sermon , 1963 (also published under the title: The Spring Madness of Mr. Sermon )
- Too Few For Drums , 1964
- A Horseman Riding By , 1966 (published in the USA as two short stories: Long Summer Day and Post of Honor ), German: Das Tal der Craddocks , 1970
- Cheap Day Return , 1967
- The Green Gauntlet , 1968 (continued from: A Horseman Riding By ), German: Das Tal der Craddocks , 1970
- Come Home, Charlie and Face Them , 1969 (also published as: Come Home, Charlie )
- God is an Eng lishman, 1970 - (Swann Saga), German: God is English , 1972
- Theirs was the Kingdom , 1972 - (Swann Saga), German: König Adams Reich , 1972
- For My Own Amusement , 1972 (autobiographical).
- To Serve Them All My Days , 1972
- Give Us This Day , 1973 - (Swann Saga), German: Adam and his sons , 1976
- Diana , 1979 - (previously published in two parts: There was a Fair Maid Dwelling , 1960, and The Unjust Skies, 1962)
15 of his dramas and works were filmed, especially for television series on British television.
Web links
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Delderfield, RF |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Delderfield, Ronald Frederick (full name) |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | English playwright and novelist |
| DATE OF BIRTH | February 12, 1912 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | London |
| DATE OF DEATH | June 24, 1972 |
| Place of death | Sidmouth , Devon |